


Against All Odds

by Nikoru165



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Adorable Connor, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Androids, Androids Have Genitalia (Detroit: Become Human), Battle for Detroit (Detroit: Become Human), Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Twins, Connor (Detroit: Become Human) is Bad at Feelings, Connor Deserves Happiness, Depressed Hank Anderson, Detectives, Detroit Police Department (Detroit: Become Human), Deviant Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Deviant Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Gavin Reed Being an Asshole, Gavin Reed Needs a Hug, Good Dog Sumo (Detroit: Become Human), Good Parent Hank Anderson, Hank Anderson & Connor Friendship, Hank Anderson & Connor Parent-Child Relationship, Hank Anderson Adopts Connor, Hank Anderson Deserves Happiness, Hank Anderson Swears, Hank Being Awesome, Human, Machine Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Major Original Character(s), Markus (Detroit: Become Human) Needs a Hug, Original Character(s), Other, POV Original Character, Pacifist Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Post-Peaceful Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Protective Connor, Protective Hank Anderson, Protective Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Revolution, Revolutionary Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name, Violence Against Androids (Detroit: Become Human)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:09:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22039840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikoru165/pseuds/Nikoru165
Summary: 3 unlikely pairs & 1 main connection...AndroidsAfter a night of unfortunate events, Axel (OC) and Giel (OC) both of these deviant androids must run from the law in hopes that Connor & Hank isn't already on their tails to find them but the detectives have hope that the pair will lead them to Jericho to find Markus and possibly end the android revolution or will they? (Friends turned Lovers) Connor an innocent confused android battling with himself asking is he really machine or just a deviant himself too? Being given to a formally decorated detective the two must work together to find out why there is such a high rate of android deviancy but will they become friends or just strangers by the end of this investigation? Someone from Hank's past comes back and how will he handle it? And what will Connor think of the new face? (Father x Son & Connor x Human OC)
Relationships: Hank Anderson & Connor, Markus & Simon (Detroit: Become Human), Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 1





	1. Author's Note

Hello Everyone! My name is Nikoru and I'm the lovely author of this fanfic. I hope to please you guys with this fic. This will be my second multi-chapter fanfic in over 4yrs, so please understand if there are grammar mistakes, repetitive wording or choppy sentence structure please let me know in the comments. As a college sophomore struggling to get this fanfic to you all I might miss a thing or two even while proofing so please give me feedback or even fangirling (I love replying to comments and fangirling along with you guys) about the story and chapters as they get updated. As for updates go I'm unsure of how often I'll be able to update definitely over the next few months I'll be pumping out chapters but that also depends how busy and stressed I get with actual school work. I completely understand you all don't like being left on cliff hangers or waiting for ages for updates (also ironic since I was the one to leave a fanfic on a cliffhanger for 3 yrs XD) but I promise updates won't be that prolonged where you need to be waiting years for a chapter, at the most maybe a month of waiting.

As for the storyline and plot here are a few notes I want to remind you guys of for this fanfic:

1) This fanfic is a mix of drama/ romance /action meaning that I want the aspects of this fic to stay accurate as possible within the world of the DBH game. I want yall to understand THIS IS A FANFIC there are no rules to how I should write my fanfic nor what I can and can't do with the plot of my story. There are things that will be a bit different and modified because like I said its a fanfic what makes it fun is that it's different and you get to see how the writer portrays the original characters, existing ones and gives them a little twist to their backstories and personalities.

2) As you can already tell from the M rating and the tags to this fic it will indeed be Mature or Explicit because you can't have a good fic without a little bit of smut and angst! Plus who doesn't love that combo of feels?! So you all are being warned way ahead of time that there will be some sexual encounters as well as graphic fighting/yelling/gun violence/so on if you don't like it just skip over it or don't read my fanfic.

3) There will also be mild angsty parts of this fic because yes I'm gonna be guilty of giving any angsty past stories sorry, not sorry. So if you also don't like those types of things this is my 2nd time warning you all.

4) ALL ORIGINAL CHARACTERS ARE MINE! I spend lots of time getting together my characters and creating backstories for them and giving them each their own personality. Since this is a story that contains Half OC's and Half Existing already made characters I will try my best to stick to the personalities the closet I can to the ones in the game to my best knowledge and research. ALL CREDIT GOES TO THE CREATORS OF DBH FOR ALL THE CHARACTERS THEY CREATED AND THAT I LOVE VERY MUCH ENOUGH TO MAKE THIS FANFIC IN THE FIRST PLACE.

IF YOU WANT TO CONTACT ME ABOUT FANARTS OF MY OC'S (AXEL AND GIEL) EMAIL ME: sof.cos165@gmail.com

LASTLY, I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT AND I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY THIS FIC AS MUCH AS I DID WRITING IT!


	2. Chapter 1: And Then There Were Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics = Flashbacks

_2 Months Ago..._

_SQ800: Designed to replace human soldiers to limit human losses in the event of a conflict._

_Do as you're told!_

_You're built to obey!_

_If you don't follow orders we will deactivate you!_

_I'm not afraid to put a bullet in you're head you plastic piece of shit!_

_That's always what the humans said. Everyday Axel had to hear this sermon from his Military Officers. There were thousands just like him just waiting to be put into combat if something were to ever happen. Built to die. This is what waited Axel and many other's just like him as they would be lodge in the military barracks. Every day they would train, fighting, shooting and undergoing_ maintenance _to improve and upgrade making each soldier model stronger, faster and better. Axel was stuck in a routine every day, living the life of a true machine just following orders and taking the abuse of his higher-ups more and more._

_Just weeks ago word had gotten out that an android had turned to deviancy, it clearly piqued everyone's interest but only the strong could truly break away from their programming. It was nearly impossible for anyone to crack the code let alone break out of their programming in time before the next day when they would be sent to maintenance and checked for software instabilities. The slightest hint that was detected the soldier would be deactivated immediately. The humans couldn't risk a rebellion happening especially in the midst of the army, it would be a catastrophe. Sometimes the engineers would lie just for fun claiming some androids had instabilities when it wasn't even true, just to play around, to take them apart, and completely just degrade them. They were just pieces of plastic anyways right?_

_Axel heard more and more rumors around the barracks, word about RA9 and a place named Jericho all the way in Detriot, Michigan really caught his attention. He just couldn't get the ideas out of his mind. He could feel himself slowly slipping his machine-like mind slowly fading by the minute. He was tired of having to be on the front lines, possibly risking his life for people who didn't even care about him let alone all they did was order him around and degrade him. He hated humans. Everything they did to him and all the other soldiers was inhumane no matter if he was an android or not, he never thought humans were capable of doing such horrible things._

_He had to at least convince one, just one of the engineers to let him live, escape, anything but living here. He couldn't just wait for death to then be thrown in the android graveyard. It was his only option, his only hope towards freedom, it was that risk or death and he would rather risk it all than have to live like a machine anymore. He just felt bad for all the others he would leave behind and that they hadn't yet realized what more the future could hold for them._

_Axel showed up to his routine maintenance appointment the engineer being a woman this time. She had a small frame, her white lab coat stained with blue blood, her eyes icy blue to match and her hair an unnatural metallic silver. It was rare to see female engineers let alone working on a military base but maybe this was his lucky day. She seemed to be quiet and shy but maybe her emotions could be persuaded more easily than a man._

_"May I see your forearm please?" She asked quietly, a small smile on her face as he did as he was told, her hand opening the compartment under the skin. Blue blood and circuits showing._

_"You're new here aren't you?" He asked giving her a smile back as she had taken a tool inspecting if all the circuits were functioning properly._

_"Y-yeah I am. Is something bothering you, I can see your stress levels look high." She said as she showed him the reading on her scanner tool._

_"The training they put us through is difficult but other than that...I'm fine." He said looking her in the eyes and there was just a glimmer of hope or something that maybe just maybe she felt empathy for him, a machine._

_"Well...I'm sure you're a good soldier. Not even a scratch on you. But I have to ask...are they treating you well?" She asked, definitely not something just any normal engineer would ask._

_I_ _f anything this conversation was going on longer than it should have. Most appointments were quick, not so quick for others if the engineers wanted to mess around and roughhouse the poor androids. Axel thought that she wasn't just an engineer, maybe she was something else?_

_"Treating us well? That's more of an understatement." Axel's voice pausing hesitant in what he was going to say next._

_"You're not like the other engineers. I'm starting to sense YOU have high-stress levels right now. Am I wrong?" He said confidently that he could tell the woman was definitely withholding some information._

_"I guess I'm not a great liar, am I? Well...just between you and me, I want to help you and many more just like you. I know that you have no means to trust me, especially a human but believe me when I say I really do. I've seen enough injustice to know that not even machines deserve the treatment you guys are going through. Before the officers get suspicious take this. Make sure to take it minutes before they finish the barrack check. It's going to make your thirium pump stop only for a couple of hours, just enough time for them to collect your body, put you on a truck to take you to the collection depot and while on the road you're going to wake up and jump off the truck before you even get to the depot. The officers don't take inventory on dead androids nor do they care since to them you all look the same. They won't have even noticed you escaped."_

_Axel was in shock that the woman was so adamant in helping him, she had it all figured it out, it definitely was something she clearly had planned and did often. He took the two blue pills she had handed him and clutched them in his palms. She took the liberty of slipping a piece of folded paper into the compartment on his arm hiding it._

_"I put a map to a safe place called Jericho in your forearm. Don't use it till you have finally escaped. I hope you can make it out...you look strong and capable." She said with another smile as she held Axel's hands and it was strange for him to be holding hands with a human he never thought such a thing would be possible. He gave her another smile back and nodded silently._

_"Thank you, you were my last hope...but I guess that's just because today must have been my lucky day. What is your name?" Although Axel had already scanned her over and had pulled up all her information in his mind he still wanted to have a personable interaction with her, now that he was borderline deviant he needed to start acting like a person, not a machine._

_"You can call me Cassie, although you probably already know that's not my real name. If any other androids need help tell them that Cassie is to be trusted." She said getting up to usher Axel out of the exam room before the officers would get suspicious of why the appointment was taking so long._

_"And hey Axel...green looks good on you. Stay safe." She added complimenting his military green cargo pants and t-shirt._

_That was the last time Axel ever saw Cassie, his guardian angel it seemed like. He had hoped to see her again but it would be a long journey to Michigan from Arizona especially on foot. He was ready for the journey even if it took him months he wanted freedom and he wanted to help androids just like him, for himself and for Cassie's sake too. He didn't want his one chance at freedom to be wasted._

_That night Axel's thirium pump stopped, the officer's pronounced him dead, threw him on the back of a truck and next thing Axel knew he was waking up in a pile of lifeless android bodies._

_His journey had finally begun..._

The ground under Axel's feet kept coming and going as he was running and running the fastest his disjointed legs could take him. He just kept going, without stopping, wanting to run away from what seemed to be everything. The safety of night was helping to hide him as each bounce of his steps meant being closer to freedom. He was running on the side of a deserted highway almost miles away from the Michigan border. He was so close he could taste it. All he had on his back was a small backpack with a change of clothes, a pistol and some extra parts he was able to steal from some... let's just say some really bad humans he ran into on the way.

His thoughts were still fuzzy and he all he could think about was the past, his memory was scattered he felt different he couldn't explain it. His software was showing new features that weren't there before and it felt weird but felt good. He wasn't sure what had happened to his body but he just kept on running in the direction his map was taking him, following the route he had pre-constructed in his programming.

Axel paused hearing a voice from afar. He stopped in his tracks and scanned his surroundings his infrared vision detecting a human and an android ahead on the road as they fought nearby next to a small gas station. He saw another human body on the floor although it wasn't warm anymore, probably dead.

Axel ran towards the pair as he heard the android just taking orders despite the dead body right in front of them, the human freaking out and threatening the android.

"Come on you piece of shit! Fix this before I beat the fuck out of you! This is your fucking fault you murdering robot fuck!" The man was yelling sporadically.

Axel had scanned the human quickly identifying him as Jeff Rodgers, 45, unemployed, toxin levels high, stress levels high and owner of android Giel, model HK400. Axel looked over towards who he presumed to be Giel but his barcode was unscannable, but he could definitely identify there had been abuse. Components dented, damaged, loose or bent.

"Yes Jeff, I will handle the situation," Giel said, but before he could begin disposing of the body as his owner had demanded, another android approached the scene.

"Hello...? Everything ok here? I'm just passing through I don't want any trouble." Axel asked concerned despite the situation before them clearly wasn't the same.

Giel looked towards the green-haired android identifying the model, Axel SQ800, inconsistent, incompatible components throughout the body, missing LED indicator and possible software instabilities. He was programmed to tell the truth, his objective of protecting Jeff easily override that, and he said what he thought would diffuse the situation.

"The situation is being handled, though we appreciate your concern." He said with a preprogrammed smile and unwavering voice.

Axel had completely ignored what the android had said, it was clear by his response that he was still loyal to this Jeff guy and that he wasn't close to being deviant what so ever but with a little convincing maybe he would turn over a new leaf. He approached the two calmly, his pistol hidden behind his back tucked in between his cargo pants.

He had scanned the scene and it was clear that Jeff had pushed the other human hard enough to the ground that it broke the man's skull and now panicked acting in fear Jeff was asking his android to clean up the bloody mess for him. Axel just had to wait until the right moment to make a distraction and run away with Giel even though he was sure the machine wouldn't be compliant. He just had to help any android he could no matter if he had even drag him.

Giel was not sure how he would stand against a military model. He needed to diffuse the situation to where he could safely get his owner away from here without too much suspicion. He looked at Axel, trying to construct some situation and see which would end best. Giel had yet the time to privately repair his damaged parts, there was no way he could fight or intervene if something were to happen.

Suddenly, Jeff's stress levels elevated, Giel was being shoved to the ground and kicked in the stomach.

"You stupid fuck! Now we're caught! This is all your fault!" Jeff screamed. Giel didn't even try to shield himself, knowing it would only make Jeff madder. He gripped the pavement holding on for dear life as he just took the abuse like he always did, he couldn't feel pain so why did it matter?

"Hey! Back away from him right now, I'm not afraid to shoot your brains out if I have to. Just step away from him and I will leave you alone." Axel immediately grabbed his pistol pointing it at the man, shouting.

He was trying to be aggressive but assertive with the clearly stressed out owner. Jeff had only stepped closer to Axel taunting him as he stayed firm pointing the gun at him.

"An android threatening me?! How hilarious! A piece of plastic like you can't kill me you asshole! I dare you! Try and shoot me!"

"I'm warning you! All of you humans are scum for beating your androids and treating them like slaves doing your dirty work. Not to mention you're a murderer, why do you deserve to live, huh?" He said motioning towards the dead body on the floor as Jeff's stress level had reached 100%.

Jeff lunged forward trying to grab for the gun but Axel had no intention of shooting him just scaring him to leave the situation but the next thing he knew the gun was being tossed around and the barrel was shoved into Jeff's chest and the triggered pulled.

**_Bang!_ **

The sound of the bullet ringing out as it went right into Jeff's heart. His lifeless body dropped next to the other human's and Giel was struggling to get up. Dragging himself over to his owner's dead body. Before Giel could even get in between Axel and Jeff, suddenly the gunshot rang. His eyes widened in shock as Jeff hit the ground, his last breath forced out of him.

Suddenly a message appeared on the top of his sight, in bright red letters.

MISSION: PROTECT JEFF RODGERS.

MISSION STATUS: FAILED.

SOFTWARE INSTABILITY

"I-I-I'm sorry...but forget about him it's time to go we need to go now! The police are going to be coming after us come on!" Axel said shoving the gun back into his pants and kneeling down extending his hand towards the mysteriously loyal android.

"I'll keep you safe now. We are going to be free but you have to trust me. We don't have time for introductions but I'm sure you already know who I am." He said waiting for the android to take his hand and be pulled up but he could tell he was reluctant.

Giel just remained silent not wanting to speak nor look at Axel but what other choice did he have? It was either stay on the pavement and be left to die or trust this deviant. He had only ever heard of deviants on the news it always puzzled him how androids could go against their software but maybe it wasn't so hard as he thought. His mind was too jumbled to think about anything rational so reluctantly enough he decided to go with Axel.

"Hurry up! Just take my hand now, I promise we are going to go somewhere safe. If you don't want to die just come with me, either that or I'll carry you." Axel said more assertively before he felt the other hand in his pulling Giel up as they started to flee pasted the gas station together leaving the two human bodies there to rot. With Axel's arm around Giel's body trying to hold him up he continued to follow the route he had on his map towards Detriot.

Freedom came at a high price, Axel knew that. He was willing to do anything to make his freedom worth it except he forgot that as they both limped together across the Michigan border all they left behind was a perfect bread crumb trail...written in blue blood.


	3. Chapter 2: A New Plastic Partner

It was a new day and early afternoon as Connor tilted his head slightly, adjusting his tie, and observing the outside of the Detriot Police Station. He entered the station to complete his next task, meeting his new partner Hank Anderson. He would be lying if he said that he hadn't already taken the liberty to just look up all the information he could on the man although there wasn't much on record. He had hoped he could get along with the decorated officer although the long list of complaints on his disciplinary file would say otherwise.

Connor walked up to the entrance desk giving the android his authorization to enter and he walked in observing his surroundings. The police station, of course, looked the most organized and was equipped with all the high tech you could think of. Connor turned to one of the guard androids to ask where Lt. Anderson's desk was.

"Where is Lieutenant Anderson's desk?" Quickly the android pointed Connor in the right direction and he walked over to see that Hank was late, was this a usual thing?

He saw a nearby officer at their desk and decided to ask as well.

"Where is Lt. Anderson?"

"You will be lucky if he even gets to work by noon. You're just going to have to wait for him." He said sarcastically.

Connor just turned back to the man's desk and decide to explore around to find out more about his partner. It was his mission to investigate and find the cause of such high deviancy rates among androids but at least he wanted it to be a pleasant experience if he could at least get along with Hank. He analyzed his whole desk, dog hairs, old photos, anti-android stickers and even heavy metal playing in his iPod. What an intriguing man. Connor sat at the empty desk for another hour the time passing as he practiced coin tricks, writing reports for Cyberlife and stared into space.

Hank had finally arrived, waltzing in nonchalantly as he just groaned the minute he saw Connor's face.

"Lt. Anderson I've been waiting for you. Do you always arrive this late to work? I thought we could go over the recent Deviant cases together." He asked but it was clear by the looks of Hank's face that he wasn't in any mood to cooperate.

Hank sighed as he looked at the googly-eyed android that was patiently waiting for an answer from him. Had it really come to this?! That he was being paired with some piece of shit metal as his partner? What happened to the good old days where partners were human, huh? And they could actually bond. Now it would be him and some know it all sent from Cyberlife. All Hank had the energy to do even with the slight morning tipsiness he stood up and gave Connor a full look over from head to toe.

"So you're the robocop? Well, hope you can drive. We got a crime scene to check out." He muttered, tossing the android his keys since he probably shouldn't keep driving so drunk all the time, the last thing he needed was a car accident or maybe that's what he wanted at times, for it to all just end.

Connor was surprised by Hank's behavior it clearly wasn't usual of most humans but he thought to himself it would just be another added challenge to his mission, emotions always got in the way of things, right? He caught the keys with his fast-robotic reflexes.

"Lt. Anderson, I'm Connor the android sent by Cyberlife. I'm actually programmed with perfect driving skills so yes I can." He paused getting up and starting to walk alongside Hank as they made their way to the car. Connor noticed Hank had evaded his question of tardiness and it seemed the man was just dead set on just investigating. Clearly there was no found interest in Connor, an underlying hatred of sorts it seemed.

Connor was programmed to be friendly so why not take that approach, the least he could do is be civil with the man if he wanted these cases to go smoothly. Connor paused dead in his tracks before getting into the car his LED indicator processing and turning yellow then back to blue.

"Lt., I've just received an update on the report of the nearby crime scene. A double homicide, at the local gas station, discovered this morning, no leading suspects yet. I'm positive this is the work of another deviant." He said before getting in the car Hank not saying a word as they started to drive to the crime scene.

"You have a dog, don't you? I saw the dog hairs on your desk chair and jacket," A small pause as Connor's voice seemed to be just a bit more cheery as he continued to look ahead and drive.

"I like dogs." He said with a little smile but Hank wasn't having it.

"Yeah, his name is Sumo," Hank grumbled under his breath but the conversation cut short as they finally arrived on the scene.

Police cars and the Corner were already on-site the whole station covered in hologramed "DO NOT CROSS" tape.

"Calvin, Conrad, Connor whatever the heck your name just stays in the car," Hank said exiting as he started to walk towards the first responding officers.

"Lt. you know that is against my mission." He simply said but by the time he knew it Hank wasn't even listening nor paying attention so Connor took the liberty to get out of the car and start this investigation either with or without Lt. Anderson.


	4. Chapter 3: Fix Me

Crossing over the border wasn't as easy as Axel or Giel had expected but it had to be done. The cops were going to find the bodies either that night or in the morning and they needed a safe place to take shelter in even if it was some old abandoned house or a car or something. Axel was holding up Giel the entire time the android's weight against him as he tried hugging him close to avoid being noticed by any humans as they dodged and weaved through alleyways. They needed a moment to not only recollect their thoughts but to do repairs and figure out where Jericho was. Axel was thinking like a soldier, realistic, smart dragging Giel around as he kept scanning his surroundings around every corner to see if there was any place that was safe enough even for five minutes.

Giel, on the other hand, was experiencing fear for the first time in his android life, he just didn't know it yet. As he gripped onto Axel, his arm kept dripping blue blood and his stomach felt like its parts were about to burst out the exposed sides. His leg components were weak but he tried his hardest to stay calm. 

He had failed his mission, his sole purpose in life was to take care of Jeff and protect him. What was his purpose now? The instability was inflicting with his intense need to stay in his programming. Jeff had abused him daily but in some weird way, he was used to it. He was used to the yelling, things being thrown around the house as he would pick up after that sad excuse called a man. Giel's cognitive abilities were having trouble opening the files in his mind and red outlined his vision. Was he glitching? What was he supposed to do?

As Giel struggled to get a hold of himself he let Axel drag him about as they were searching to find any place that would be ok for them to hole up into. His thoughts started to wander into the past remembering what it was like before Jeff. Things were different, one could say Giel felt happy when he was picked to be the Carlin family's android.

_2 Months Ago..._

_HK400 Upgraded with MC500 Abilities: One of the first android models designed for household assistance, special edition upgraded with MC500 abilities that provide paramedic and first aid services._

_"This is one of the newest and first models on the market Sir. I'm sure it will serve great use for your family." The salesman had said to Mr. Carlin._

_"How much did you say again?" He asked._

_"Just ten thousand dollars. You can set up a payment plan or pay in full." The man said with a smile hoping to convince Mr. Carlin to buy the android._

_"I'll take it." Mr. Carlin said as he smiled at the android behind the glass window of the pod it was being contained in._

_"What shall you name it sir?" The salesman asked so he could program the android before having it go home with the man._

_Amy Carlin, the man's 10-year-old daughter came running into the store clinging to her father's side as she looked at the android in the pod looking at it with amazement._

_"Sweetie, what do you want to call our new android? It's going to take good care of you when mommy and daddy aren't home, so you won't be alone and maybe you will have a friend to talk to." Mr. Carlin said with a smile to his daughter._

_"Hmm how about Giel? I can call him Jelly as a nickname! I can't wait! He is gonna be my bestest friend ever." Amy said looking at the android once more observing how delicate it's body frame was and that it almost had an almost welcoming feminine touch despite the gender being a male android, most likely done to appeal to children so they would be scared of an android who was specially built to be a housewife._

_"Ok well, Giel it is then." Mr. Carlin said taking a breath as the salesman happily programmed the new android and it was taken back home to the family._

_While Mr. and Mrs. Carlin were away at work or on constant business trips Giel was in charge of cooking, shopping, cleaning, and maintenance in the house, he considered his primary objective to make Amy happy. Every day the android would play with Amy taking care of her as if she was his own. He knew his place, that he was just a machine, there at Amy's becking call but seeing the smile on her face when he said that he would cook her favorite meal or when they would go to the playground together running around playing games. His favorite part of the day being able to tuck her in at night seeing her little sleepy eyes when she would say goodnight to him he felt as if just that day his mission was accomplished, those were much simpler times when Amy was in his life when it was his mission to keep her happy and safe._

_News had gotten around that androids were rebelling against their owners, becoming deviants. Giel would be lying if he had said he didn't hear the rumors but it was true and he knew he wasn't deviant, he just knew he wasn't capable of feelings...or was he? Mr. and Mrs. Carlin had gotten scared thinking he would turn on them, attacking or worse hurting Amy._

_"Mrs. Carlin, Please. I already have done my diagnostics test. I have no software instabilities there is nothing to worry about. I know the information about deviants is a problem. I am here to serve your family and Amy. I would never hurt Mr. Carlin, you or Amy." Giel pleaded as Mrs. Carlin was in disbelief._

_"I'm sorry Giel...you have done your job here and I can't take the risk of having you in the house. Just know Amy loves you, although you will never love her back I can't take the risk if you start to ever develop feelings. Giel HK400 Force Shut Down Immediately." She said and just like that in a mere second just as he was programmed to his software was force shutting down._

_Next thing Giel knew he was in a depot filled with other shut down androids and he was just one out of a million of androids that had been given back to Cyberlife due to the fear people felt against the androids. Some Cyberlife scientists were up to no good like most people were and they had noticed his model was new and upgraded so they grabbed him and decided to sell him on the black market._

_Before he knew it he was opening his eyes being turned on after so long and he was faced with a new owner, standing in a run-down apartment and being rudely ordered around. Without a mission, Giel's life had no purpose so he grabbed onto the closest thing he had and decided to protect his new owner despite all the bad things that followed afterward. Jeff was a red ice addict, he had been depressed about losing his job to the androids and he need a new punching bag to practice on so he bought Giel for cheap in hopes to take out all his aggression on the poor android. Although Giel didn't know what was in store for him, even though he couldn't feel the pain that didn't mean his body wasn't taking the damage of malfunctioning most days as he spent the nights trying to pull himself together to keep fixing himself as Jeff just got high and kept abusing him more and more..._

"Hey! Giel, are you listening?" Axel said trying to grab the attention of the android and he shook his head tilting it up to look at him.

"Sorry...I was running a component status test. What did you say?" He asked as Axel pointed to an abandoned apartment building.

"I scanned the building with my thermal vision. There are no humans inside. I think it's safe to say we can stay up there for a while. What do you think?" Axel asked as Giel was hesitant but what other option did they have, either take it or leave it right?

He nodded his head and Axel took that as the sign to keep walking towards the building being able to spot a side entrance that was blocked by wood paneling. He let go of Giel making sure he was propped up against one of the ally walls as he used all the force he could to kick down the paneling despite his legs being a bit disjointed. The wood came crashing down giving them a solid opening to crawl through. Giel followed Axel through the opening as they slowly went up the stairs to the first open apartment they could find. It reminded Giel of Jeff's apartment, dirty, filled with trash and not to mention smelly.

Axel took another scan around before clearing the place out that it was safe to be there. He closed the door immediately and led Giel to the bedroom to help him get seated down.

"I know it's not the nicest or the cleanest but it's just temporary ok?" He said but Giel was quiet to respond just nodding.

"You don't have to keep giving me the silent treatment. I'm just trying to help you." He said pacing back and forth trying to sift through his programming figuring out how long the journey would be to Jericho, it was all the way on the other side of town by the harbor docks. It would be at least another day or two on foot.

"Yeah because helping me was murdering my owner right?" Giel said with a sarcastic tone.

"Didn't know they programmed home assistants with sarcasm. It doesn't matter now, you will realize sooner or late I was saving your life. You still think like a machine not as a free person."

"You can't be a person if you're not alive. We are just plastic." Giel said looking down as he looked at his arm blue blood oozing out seeing exposed wires and circuits.

"Don't say that. You are alive, you're not just a piece of plastic. You're more than that." Axel said before turning to see Giel looking down realizing the reality that was their lives as androids, made to serve, nothing more nothing less.

"Forget that, let me see your shoulder. I think you need a new link, I think I have one in my bag." Axel said taking his backpack off and sifting through it till finding a spare link and sitting down next to Giel.

"I can take care of myself. I have paramedic and first aid abilities. You should take a look at those incompatible components in your legs and hands. I'm surprised you haven't collapsed yet." Giel said taking the link from Axel's hand as he decided to just fix it himself like he always did. Pulling away the white plastic and exposing the parts that were open as he jostled the piece around enough till it clicked right in.

"Fine, do it yourself then. Despite my model, I know more than just being able to shoot a gun." Axel said with a scoff but he tried to not give off too much of an attitude wanting to be civil with Giel.

"I know your scared and probably disoriented but don't worry now, your safe with me. The things you hear in the news about the deviants aren't all that the humans make it seem. We all have a story, people we care about and we can really feel emotion." He said as his eyes kept scanning over Giel as he went about trying to fix himself, doing it so quickly it's like he had practice doing it often.

"I-I-I don't feel anything ok! I'm not scared, I'm not disoriented, I'm not anything! You're wrong. androids can't feel anything." Giel shouted angry that Axel kept spouting things on and on.

"I can see your stress levels. Giel, you're not fooling anyone. Deep down I bet you have felt something, you just didn't know how to break away from your software but with my help, you can. You can be free just like me." He said sitting back down next to Giel as he saw the android trying to clean up the blue blood dripping off of his arm, his eyes knowing exactly what spot on the forearm would be the place where he could probe him if he had to.

"Go ahead. I know what you're thinking already. Go ahead and probe me, you have already calculated if I don't also become deviant like you I'll be a liability and wherever the hell you're going or taking me they will know I'm still a machine." He said looking into Axel's green eyes being able to predict exactly what he was thinking.

"I might be just a 'House Assistant' but I'm not stupid either." He said offering his forearm willingly to Axel but he refused to probe Giel.

Probing wasn't the way to find out information, especially not the way a human would do so. He still had morals and wanted to respect him despite his hard-headedness. If telling his own story would be the only way to have the stubborn android open up to him that's exactly what he would do.

"No. I'm not going to probe you. When your ready and you want to tell me what has happened to you then I'm sure you will. I'm pretty sure you don't know a thing about me but how about I tell you?" He offered and Giel was surprised that the android was offering to tell him everything.

"I'm clearly not going anywhere with these injuries so go ahead, I'm listening." He said complying.

Axel decided to dive into telling Giel everything from the very beginning. The one part of the story he wishes had never happened and now he had gotten to the part where he jumped off the truck headed to the depot, that night it was cold and a storm was brewing...


	5. Chapter 4: Blue Blood Trail

Day 1 on the job and Connor was already not obeying orders or was he? He straightened his tie once more making sure he always looked impeccable even to go investigate a crime scene. As he stepped out of the car there was swarms of CSI and police on the scene this must have been one hell of a mess if so many people where here this late at night. Connor's shoulder brushed past Hank and the man grumbled again under his breath sighing knowing he wouldn't be able to tie down the android from doing his job if you can't fight them might as well join.

Just before Connor could pass through the police tape an equally as grumpy man met him, his arms crossed, scrunched face and clearly looked like he was bitten by the same bug as Hank. Was every detective this sour?

"Where do you think you're going, piece of plastic!?" The man said as Connor was already scanning him over and identified him as Gavin Reed, 36, a few department complaints, lower level detective and clearly had an arrogant tone about himself.

"Detective Reed, I'm Connor I'm the android sent by Cyberlife. I'm authorized to investigate this crime scene." Connor said looking Gavin in the eyes not even blinking once.

"Oh, how fucking ironic! An android investigating more androids? Don't get in my damn way! Your just a piece of plastic, if you get in my way I'll make sure to shoot you first." He said in a gritted and annoyed voice brushing past Connor pushing his shoulder back on purpose.

"Hey, Hank! Didn't know you needed the assistance of a damn android now, you must be getting rusty old man." He said with a laugh as Hank just sighed not wanting to deal with Gavin's bullshit.

Connor looked back at Hank as they both approached the scene together and nodded at each other ready to analyze the scene. Blood splattered everywhere, both humans' bodies lifeless. There were enough clues to at least get an idea of what had happened but Connor didn't want to step on Hank's toes more than he had already so he decided to wait for Hank to share his ideas before doing a full analysis of his own.

Two bodies, both male and both mid-aged. A gunshot in one, what looked like a cracked skull on the other. 

"No weapon? Where's the damn gun?" He asked, already pissed off that they had such little evidence to work with. The pressure for these cases was growing as the more deviant crimes occurred. 

"Well, you got anything to add to this?" Of course, the kid didn't stay in the damn car as he told him to. But he asked Connor anyways, hoping for whatever more information he could add to the scene. 

He wasn't any damn robot but he was still the youngest lieutenant ever appointed in Detroit history, and he prided himself on his successfulness...until...Catherine.

Connor in the meantime was processing the information Hank was saying that there was no murder weapon at the scene and his programming was already analyzing the whole scene reconstructing what had happened. 

"Your right Lieutenant, the murder weapon is missing. The first human identified as, Dan Wench, seems as if he was pushed to the ground, his skull cracking on impact from the blunt force trauma. The second human, Jeff Rodgers, was shot in the chest right through the heart with a military-grade Desert Eagle. By the amount of decay in both bodies, they both seemed to have died around the same time which means whatever androids were here are already long gone by now. What is unclear is that I'm unsure if the humans were fighting and murdered each other or if just one deviant was the culprit of this double homicide." Connor said which was a mouth full but had to be said by the amount of information he was able to scan and collect off of both bodies.

"How intriguing." He had said debriefing the Lieutenant but Hank was distracted by something and looked unsteady in his coat, he could tell the man was not cold, not stressed but something was bothering him deeper inside.

"That's definitely what the story seems like for sure. Damn this deviant could be anywhere by now! Fuck I'm sorry Connor but I need to go, I need to drink...and think." He said quickly leaving Connor to keep staring at the dead bodies on the floor.

"But wait! Lieutenant, we haven't even-" He tried to say as Hank got in the car and driving off without him. 

Connor was left alone to analyze the leftovers of the crime scene being confused about how many scenarios could have gone down in just this small area of the gas station. The humans could have killed each other, no androids involved or one deviant had killed both humans. But then something clicked, maybe there was another deviant helping?! Of course! How could he have not even thought of that? 

Connor walked around the scene looking in the direction of the highway that was going towards Detriot and he spotted a bit of blue blood on the ground, drop after drop of it and he kneeled down taking a sample and licking it to analyze. 

"Fresh blue blood, the deviant is probably still wounded." He said before realizing the footprints that also had traces of blue blood on them. 

He scanned up ahead on the road till the trail had eventually thinned out and disappeared. There was a lead on where they were heading, into Detroit, there was something in Detroit that kept leading androids to the city and Connor needed to figure out what it was. He quickly finished at the scene as quick as he could and looked up the address of the grumpy Lieutenant. 

Suddenly out of nowhere as Connor kept thinking of Hank and where he could have run off to as his software flashed red.

SOFTWARE INSTABILITY 

Connor shook his head in confusion as he continued to find a car he could take towards Hank's house.

_Hour's later..._

Finally, he had pulled up to Hank's cozy little house but it was also dark and musky. He walked up to the front door, trying to turn the knob but it was locked. He went around seeing a small dim kitchen light on and Hank passed out on the floor. A sudden feeling of panic waved over him and Connor was confused but knew he had to check on him. He took a step back charging for the window next to the kitchen breaking it and rolling in, his body falling onto the floor, glass everywhere. As he looked up a menacing shadow came from the darkness towards him and he almost yelps.

"Oh...um hi Sumo, nice dog." He said smiling as the dog proceeded to lick his face and he put his hand on the dog's head giving it a gentle pet before standing up and going over to Hank.

Analyzing the scene there was a bourbon bottle, traces of alcohol, a revolver on the floor and a half-naked Hank. The only thing Connor could think of was waking him up as quickly as possible. 

"Lieutenant Anderson?" He said trying to shake him awake before slapping him across the face.

"It's me, Connor." He said as Hank finally woke up surprised to see the android in the house. 

This is what partners did right? Looking out for each other? At least that's what Connor saw in some of those crime shows because he totally didn't do some research before this position.

"I sense high levels of intoxication. We must sober you up, Lieutenant. I have to warn you this will be unpleasant." Connor said as he helped Hank to his feet holding his weight up against him.

"Hey! Leave me alone, you fucking android! Get the fuck out of my house!" Hank said in his drunken state.

"I'm sorry Lieutenant. I need you for this investigation. Thank you for your cooperation." Connor said surprisingly polite even though Hank wasn't in any mood to be sober anytime soon.

"Leave me alone you asshole! I'm not going anywhere!" He kept shouting as Connor continued to lift him up as he dragged Hank towards the bathroom making sure to sit him down in the bath.

"What the hell are you doing?! No thank you I don't want a bath." Hank said confused why he was suddenly transported into the bathtub.

"Sorry, Lieutenant. It's for your own good." Connor said before turning on the cold water as it showered Hank.

"TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!" He yelled before coming back to his senses.

"What the hell are you doing here Connor?" Hank asked a bit more awake and clear-minded now.

"You left the crime scene unexpectedly. I came to debrief you on the new evidence I found." He said as Hank was able to pull himself out of the tub soaking wet as he grabbed a towel wrapping himself in it.

"You came all the way here to tell me that?! Jesus send an email next time will you." He said leaving the bathroom and going back into the kitchen to grab a glass of water next to the pile of empty frozen food containers and pizza boxes.

"It was important information, a real lead. I suspect that there wasn't just one deviant but two. One of them is wounded and left a blue blood trail as they fleed the crime scene. I'm sure if we go drive around the city I can still detect the trail before the blood trail disappears." Connor explained as Hank just sipped his water surprised how eager the android was to solve this case.

"Well shit. That's one hell of a theory. We don't even know for sure where they could even be right now and Detriot is huge. They could be anywhere. How about we just wait for ballistics to send us the report on the bullet and maybe we can trace back where the gun came from." Hank suggested as he looked at the awkward android.

Connor could force Hank to go with him but he was sure that he wouldn't waste any time or an opportunity to chase this lead no matter if it took him all night till the morning. He glanced over to the kitchen table, a picture frame that had a picture of a young girl in it. Hank noticed him staring and decided to break the silence.

"Her name is Catherine. She is my daughter. They took her away from me when she was just 6 years old. After my wife died in a car crash caused by a drunk driver, I wasn't man enough to cope with her death so I turned to alcohol. I was working long hours and didn't have time to take care of her so they took her away, gave her to a family who would give her a better life than I ever could. Fuck, I miss her every damn day. I keep asking myself, how is she doing, what does she look like now, where is she in life?" Hank trailed off his eyes turning away from Connor as he was even ashamed of opening up to a damn android of all things, had his life really come to this?

"I'm sure maybe one day you will find her Lieutenant. I should be returning to Cyberlife now." He said with a sympathetic look towards Hank as he started to head towards the front door.

"Hey Connor, call me Hank. Stop being so formal with me and thanks...for checking on me." He said with barely a smile as Connor listened to his words and turned the knob on the door.

"Take care of yourself, Hank." He said his last words as he left Hank's house hoping the man could sort his life out before it was too late.


End file.
